Political Quotes

“We must ensure that the men and women who bravely served our country have access to affordable housing. My amendment seeks to make sure that conflicting government regulations do not pose an impediment to achieving this important goal. Currently, the VA requires a veteran's preference for housing built on VA property. However, HUD requires that HUD-assisted projects contain no preferences. These conflicting rules and regulations make it nearly impossible to help low-income senior veterans access affordable housing on VA property with HUD assistance. My amendment prohibits HUD from using funds to enforce the restriction against a veteran's preference for housing projects built on a VA campus or that use a VA-enhanced use lease. The language is identical to an amendment that I authored which the House unanimously approved twice and was included in H.R. 3288, the Fiscal Year 2010 Consolidated Appropriations Act. As a result, in my southwest Ohio community, St. Mary Development Corporation is currently building housing for senior veterans on the campus of the Dayton VA, which will help provide veterans close access to the services they need. Mr. Chairman, this project can be a model in that it can be used across the country to help homeless veterans, provide low-income housing for veterans, and respond to the needs of seniors in the community. I urge all my colleagues to support this important amendment. I yield back the balance of my time.”